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Australia's hard-hitting batter Tim David expressed his hope that they get similar batting conditions to Hobart's Bellerive Oval in India and Sri Lanka for the T20 World Cup next year. He wished this after smashing a blistering 74 off just 38 balls in the third T20I against India.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, David said, "Hard to predict what the pitch is going to be like in the World Cup where obviously I think we're either split between Sri Lanka and India and sometimes maybe the Indian team change the pitch depending on who they're playing. So it'll be tough to predict but hopefully we get good batting surfaces like that today. That'd be good fun." Australia had posted 186/6 in their allotted 20 overs, but captain Mitchell Marsh admitted that his side was around 20 runs short of a winning total. India comfortably chased down the target in 18.3 overs to seal the match. He also shared an update on Glenn Maxwell's availability, as the star all-rounder missed the third T20I. "There's no point rushing it if it's going to be not 100%. We know Glenn is so experienced and he means so much to this team, so we want to have him fit and firing for the World Cup. I'm sure the coach and medical staff made that decision based on how Glenn was feeling," David said. "It's great to have him back here in the squad. We miss him when he's not on tour with us, so that's the first big thing, and then obviously when he comes back into the playing XI, it'll be even better," he added. With this win, India levelled the series 1-1, with two matches left. Earlier, India won the toss and opted to bowl first. After powerplay heroics from pacer Arshdeep Singh (3/35), it was a partnership between skipper Mitch Marsh (11) and Tim David (74 in 38 balls, with eight fours and five sixes) of 59 runs for third wicket and a 64-run stand between Marcus Stoinis (64 in 39 balls, with eight fours and two sixes) and Matt Short (26* in 15 balls, with two fours and a six) took Australia to 186/6 in 20 overs. In the run-chase, contributions did come from skipper Abhishek Sharma (25 in 16 balls, with two fours and two sixes), skipper Suryakumar Yadav (24 in 11 balls, with a four and two sixes) and Tilak Varma (29 in 26 balls, with a four and six). India was 145/5 in the 15th over in a tricky spot. However, a blitz from Washington (49* in 23 balls, with three fours and four sixes) and Jitesh Sharma (22* in 13 balls, with three fours) helped India keep series alive. (ANI)
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